Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. A collared, usually ruffled covering for the neck and shoulders, popular in 16th-century Europe and worn especially by women.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. A garment for the neck and shoulders, especially for women. It was at one time of the nature of a neckerchief of linen or similar fabric, but a partlet of crimson velvet occurs in an inventory of Henry VIII.'s time. The ruffled or plaited edge of some forms of partlet seems to have given rise to the popular term for a hen.
- n. A hen.
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. obsolete A covering for the neck, and sometimes for the shoulders and breast; originally worn by both sexes, but later by women alone; a ruff.
- n. A hen; -- so called from the ruffing of her neck feathers.
Etymologies
- Origin unknown. (Wiktionary)
- Alteration of Middle English patelet, from Old French patelete, band of cloth, diminutive of pate, paw; see patois. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“Counterbalancing this is the quasi-Egyptian inscrutability of her eyes; the mask-like ivory oval of her face; the light blue halo effect around her head; the shield-like rigidity of her bodice; and the chain-mail of her pearl and gold partlet.”
“Nathalie: One could make a good argument for the Elizabethan partlet being a proto-dickey.”
“Catherine Seyton presently exclaimed, “They were bearing the dishes across the court, marshalled by the Lady Lochleven herself, dressed out in her highest and stiffest ruff, with her partlet and sleeves of cyprus, and her huge old-fashioned farthingale of crimson velvet.””
“The angels minister to the tyrants; or the gentle, hen-pecked husband cowers before the superior partlet.”
“A partlet filled the square neck of her gown, not allowing him the tiniest glimpse of skin.”
“Beneath the cloak her chest was covered with a partlet and flattened by her stays and bodice.”
“A smudge of black marred her cheek and the ribbon on her partlet was undone.”
“She moved in front of Fayth, adjusting the partlet that hid her modest bosom—as well as the rack of ribs and jutting collarbones stretching her translucent skin.”
“With her partlet gone it peeked out the top of her bodice.”
“His wife comely as a girl, hair down and beribboned, partlet lost—as if out maying.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘partlet’.
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Interesting words
A list of words that are odd or words that I have looked up.
concupiscence, brize, scree, scoria, forestaff, spanaemia, valetudinarianism, distasture, pyrethrum, laudanum, gentian, bicameral and 11184 more...
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Historical Costume Box
This is just sort of my "unsorted pit" of costumes to be organized later. It's a really broad topic, so right now, anything goes! Thanks for the contributions!
baldric, bliaut, coif, cote-hardie, farthingale, houppelande, partlet, tabard, kirtle, wimple, buskin, greatcoat and 33 more...
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Cormac McCarthy
words from Cormac McCarthy books.
rucked, pinchbeck, cinderblock, sumac, pokeweed, frograils, fishplates, bolo, rictus, polyp, neap, flitch and 58 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for partlet.
jinglebelljosie n garment for neck and shoulders, usually ruffled and having a collar
Aug 15, 2008